They lead the NFL – but are the Broncos really Super Bowl contenders?

Christmas football is here and the NFL playoffs are on the horizon. With just three weeks of the regular season remaining, postseason places are on the line…

Editor’s note…

As it stands, the Denver Broncos are the class of the AFC, perhaps even the NFL. It is all going according to plan as they seek a return to perennial contention, a decade on from their Super Bowl 50 triumph.

They appear to have come through the post-Peyton Manning and No Fly Zone storm, quarterback purgatory seemingly over and every ruthless ounce of Sean Payton’s winning makeup a remedy to irrelevance. Now, in a season of question marks, they are championship frontrunners with No 1 seed and home-field advantage destiny in touching distance.

Denver have won 11 straight games, 10 of which have seen them come from behind while 10 of their 12 total wins have arrived by one score. They continue to deliver clinics in four-quarter stamina, wearing opponents down on both sides of the ball to leave them on the brink of ending Kansas City’s nine-year AFC West winning streak.

Bo Nix is coming off perhaps his best game as an NFL quarterback after out-duelling Jordan Love as he threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in last weekend’s 34-26 win over the Green Bay Packers. He was torching Green Bay off-script and off-platform on the move, he was demonstrating perfect touch and accuracy from one of the most spotless pockets seen all season against the Packers’ pass rush – a credit to his offensive line – he was diagnosing the field like a veteran and he was commanding the game like one of the league’s premier quarterbacks.

“This is probably one of the best games of his career,” said tight end Adam Trautman said. “He was unbelievable tonight.”

“I don’t think anybody was stopping No. 10 today,” added offensive tackle Mie McGlinchey.

At times his success has been attributed to Payton-guided training wheels or security blanket designs; by now those queries feel unfair and out-dated.

It had been Payton who drove Denver’s interest in Nix coming out of college, attracted to the consistency and efficiency of a quarterback whose sample size of negative plays was beyond limited. Rarely did he make a mistake, as much serving as a desired foundation for a play-caller Payton believed he could harness into a winning machine.

“There’s no way that I can keep being negative about Bo Nix when I’m like, look what he did last week, right?” said Sky Sports NFL’s Phoebe Schecter.

“I’ve got to at some point just come to terms with the fact that he’s executing the playbook, whether Sean Payton is pulling the strings or not, he’s able to show his athleticism and again, watching him on the move, the bootlegs and what he’s able to do.”

Nix has now won 22 games in the NFL, tied with Dak Prescott, Andrew Luck and Ben Roethlisberger for the second-most by a quarterback in his first two seasons. Russell Wilson currently holds the record with 24. He is meanwhile just the second quarterback in history to throw for more than 7,000 yards and 50-plus touchdowns and win more than 20 games in his first two seasons behind Dan Marino.

A staple of Denver’s success continues to be one of the league’s smartest and stingiest defenses, with Vance Joseph’s unit currently allowing the second fewest points while ranking fourth best in total yards. They lead the NFL with 58 sacks on the year – 10 more than Atlanta’s second-most 48 – as well as in quarterback pressures behind focal point pass rusher Nik Bonitto, whose team-high 12.5 sacks stem from one of the quickest rush rates in football. The Broncos also remain one of the stickiest and accomplished man coverage defense in the NFL, Riley Moss ranking third with 15 pass breakups, followed by Pat Surtain II’s fifth-most 12, aided by the ability to work behind a four-man rush customary to any good team in modern football.

They have played down to lesser opponents at times, but so too have they showcased a winning quality to turn it on against the league’s best.

A trust test of the Jaguars?

They face a Jacksonville Jaguars team riding a five-game winning streak while seeing former No 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence playing the best football of his NFL career.

Jacksonville are averaging 32.9 points across their last seven games having exploded into life under Liam Coen since their one-sided defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in London. They sit top of the AFC South at 10-4 and on course for a return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2022 campaign.

“This is as real as it gets,” said Sky Sports NFL’s Schecter. “This defense is going to truly expose who this Jaguars team is and almost more importantly, who Trevor Lawrence is.

“Because what’s been wonderful to see, and I really feel like the game last week was probably one of the best of Trevor Lawrence’s career, it’s not just what he’s doing on the field, the confidence with which he was playing.”

Lawrence threw for five touchdowns and rushed for another in Sunday’s rout of the New York Jets, having thrown for two scores in the previous week’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, with the Jags combining for 84 points across both games.

It is the Lawrence for whom the NFL has been waiting.

“It was his belief and ability to continue and extend plays, to scramble, to get that rushing touchdown for himself,” said Schecter. “I just feel like this is the Trevor Lawrence that we have been looking for and we’ve had flashes of it, but it’s never been consistent enough.

“I think if he can come out and play like this against this Denver Broncos team, mean, this not only is promising for this season, but for what the future looks like for him because we had so many questions about him earlier on.

“I think it’s great also for Liam Cohen to understand who is it that I’m working with? Which version of Trevor Lawrence are we getting?”

Playoff clinching scenarios

AFC

Buffalo Bills (10-4) – @ Browns

How Bills can clinch playoff spot:

• Win & Texans defeat vs Raiders
• Win & Colts defeat vs 49ers

Denver Broncos (12-2) – vs Jaguars

How Broncos can clinch AFC West title

• Win & Chargers defeat vs Cowboys

How Broncos can clinch No 1 seed in AFC

Jacksonville Jaguars (10-4) – @ Broncos

How Jaguars can clinch playoff spot:

Los Angeles Chargers (10-4) – @ Cowboys

How Chargers can clinch playoff spot:

New England Patriots (11-3) – @ Ravens

How Patriots can clinch playoff spot:

• Win
• Texans defeat vs Raiders
• Colts defeat vs 49ers

NFC

Chicago Bears (10-4) – vs Packers

How Bears can clinch playoff spot:

• Win & Lions defeat vs Steelers

Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) @ Bears

How Packers can clinch playoff spot:

• Win & Lions defeat vs Steelers

Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) – @ Commanders

How Eagles can clinch playoff spot:

• Win
• Cowboys defeat vs Chargers

San Francisco 49ers (10-4) – @ Colts

How 49ers can clinch playoff spot:

• Win
• Lions defeat vs Steelers

Benedict’s stats corner

Sky Sports statistician – and Buffalo Bills fan – Benedict Bermange breaks down some of the key stats heading into Sunday’s matchups…

• The Bills are the first team to score 28-plus points in the second half of back-to-back games since the Broncos did it to start the 2013 season.
• The Browns defense has allowed an NFL-low 169.0 passing yards per game this season, with Myles Garrett’s 8.5-sack lead over the NFL’s next-closest player is tied for the largest gap between the NFL’s top two sacks leaders since sacks were first tracked in 1982 (Reggie White; 8.5 more than Richard Dent/Andre Tippett in 1987).
• The Cowboys lead the NFL with 5,557 total net yards this season with Dak Prescott completing at least 60 per cent of his passes in 16 straight games, the longest streak of his career.
• Travis Etienne Jr. leads the Jaguars with five receiving touchdowns this season and would be the first running back in franchise history to lead the team in receiving touchdowns outright in a single season.
• Mike Vrabel’s 11 wins are the most by any head coach in his first season with the Patriots and he is hoping to become just the fourth head coach to win each of his first seven road games with a team after Jim Caldwell (Ind), Wade Phillips (Dal), and George Seifert (SF).
• James Pearce Jr. has recorded at least one sack in six straight games, only behind Jevon Kearse’s eight-game streak in 1999 for the longest streak by any NFL rookie since individual sacks were officially recorded.

Who said what?

Rams HC Sean McVay following Puka Nacua’s apology for antisemitic gesture on livestream appearance: “I know this guy’s heart. And for anybody that was offended, terribly sorry about that. I know he feels that same exact way. He’s a young guy, that’s a great kid that’s continuing to learn about just the platform that he has. I love him, we’re going to continue to put our arm around him and help him learn and grow. But we never want to do things that ever offend anybody, and I know he feels that same way.”

Dolphins QB Quinn Ewers on taking over from Tua Tagovailoa: “It’s a dream come true for me. I’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to play in the NFL, and for that to be coming is truly a blessing. I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

Tom Brady’s advice to Patrick Mahomes following season-ending ACL injury: “The only thing you can do is focus on what’s ahead of you and not look back. And just say, OK, this is part of what my career is going to be. And a lot of people have gone through it and a lot of people have overcome it. You’ve just got to put as much diligence into the rehab process.”

Jason Kelce on brother Travis Kelce’s potential retirement: “In my opinion, to nail that decision, you gotta step away from the game for a little bit. Play these last three games, enjoy ’em with your teammates, enjoy ’em with your coaches. The team is going to be different whether or not you come back next year. Then play these three games and then let it sink in. It’ll come to you with time.”

Bills QB Josh Allen on Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett: “I do like highlight tapes, but I don’t like being a part of other people’s highlight tapes. He’s one of the greatest of all time. He is a force to be reckoned with. And we’ve got to be ready for everything that they can throw at us.”

Titans QB Cam Ward on Tennessee’s head coach search: “I want to meet all of them. Every coach who gets the opportunity to come here, I want to have conversations throughout the process with them. I’m going to be here for that whole time.”

News around the league

• The Dolphins benched quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, with Quinn Ewers taking over as starter in Miami
• Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes underwent surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee
• The Packers confirmed pass rusher Micah Parsons will be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL
• The Jaguars and wide receiver Jakobi Meyers agreed a three-year $60m extension
• Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson returned to practice after a two-month absence
• Cowboys corner DaRon Bland may be required to undergo another surgery on his foot injury

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com